


Half

by elvish_sky



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Grief, Hallas - Freeform, a cool horse, angstttt, death death sadness, during lord of the rings, legolas is a sweetie, nahar - Freeform, no seriously the first part is really sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29363397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elvish_sky/pseuds/elvish_sky
Summary: After failing to guard the Shire against the Nine, you flee to Rivendell to warn of their coming. What happens when you join the Fellowship?
Relationships: Legolas Greenleaf/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Introduction

Hi everyone! This is an intro/explanatory post about my new Legolas x Reader series, Half. You don’t have to have read the first part to read this, although it is here if you want to.   
So you may notice some references to lack of sight, or not seeing someone from the left side, etc. This is because the character of the reader is partially blind in their left eye. I wanted to write this because I am, too. I have what is called refractive amblyopia. It’s different for different people, but for me, it means that because everything I see in my left eye looks blurry. Because of this, my brain has adapted so I only use my right eye, out of which I have perfect sight, and my left is just a kinda wonky bit of peripheral vision, which makes it unreliable. Basically, I don’t use my left eye, the field of sight it occupies is just blurry colored shapes. This is what it’s like for the reader in this story, she has only half of her vision (get the title now? Yeah, I’m not the most creative, although it could have different meanings later on...).   
In the next chapters, I’m gonna show a little bit more about what fighting is like with this. You’ll notice in the beginning I mention she uses twin swords, which is significantly harder when you have trouble seeing out of one side. It’s how I was trained, mainly because it was supposed to improve my hand-eye coordination and help with how I used the left side in general, and it very much did, along with generally helping my hand-eye coordination. She also uses a bow (and yes, I know in all my stories that’s what the reader uses but it’s my two favorite weapons so c’mon.) and I want to talk about how I shoot a little differently than others because aiming is harder, so there’ll be some of that coming up. There’s also the obvious risk of maybe not noticing something coming in on your left side, which is always interesting, especially when fighting.   
The last thing I wanted to bring up was just that while sometimes you can tell if someone is visually impaired by how their eyes look, how they move, etc, for a lot of people that’s not true. My eyes look completely normal. A lot of the time because of this people will tell me that nothing’s actually wrong, I’m just making it all up because if they can’t tell then nothing is different. Other times people start to treat me like a doll, and like I’ve had it for my whole life, I can manage. So I also wanted to show the characters reactions to learning about this.  
Anyways, I really just wanted to write something that represented me in a certain way and maybe give others insight, as well as just another Legolas fic. I’m sorry if any of this seems wrong to you, this is just based on my experiences. I’m 100% open to any questions you have about my visual impairment, or about the story, I’d love to tell you guys more about it! I really hope I did a good job, and I’d love to know what you all think.


	2. Old and New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: So first of all, I just made myself cry while writing this. That’s never happened before, so be warned. Anyways, this is the first part of my new Legolas x Reader series, called Half. The series is based on a personal thing about me, and I wrote a little intro post that explains it and all the details here. I’m so unbelievably excited to be able to share this with you all, I’ve been planning it for three weeks at this point, and I really hope you enjoy it.  
> Word Count: 1,776  
> Warnings: Death, angst, grief, comforting, there’s really nothing happy happening in this part.
> 
> *IMPORTANT: Just so you know, the reader only uses their right eye. Everything in their left just looks blurry.

Old and New

You had watched as the faceless black shadow cut down your kin like they were nothing. Sweeps of the blade felled man after man, and you were unable to lift your eyes from the terrible scene below. You drew your swords, knowing you were supposed to stay hidden but not being able to bear watching your friends be slaughtered. You sprang down from the tree, lifting your blades as you sprinted to put yourself between the shadow and your brother. Parrying the stroke, feeling it resonate down your arm in all its wrongness, you could sense the air of terror surrounding you. You sensed something moving on your left and spun just in time to be whacked by the flat of the blade, your swords knocked out of your hands. Dazed from the blow, you tried to rise, watching as it advanced on your brother, who was lying helpless on the ground. You scrambled for a dagger, a sword, any weapon that might be able to save him, and your hand landed on an arrow from the quiver still strapped onto your back. Seizing it, you threw it at the shadow, hoping to distract it more than anything else. It splintered as soon as it touched the creature, who didn’t even notice it, and stepped forward, stabbing your brother right in the heart.  
“Hallas!”   
You grabbed another arrow, standing, and cast it at the shadow only to watch it splinter as well. It turned towards you, and whipped its sword back at you, knocking you over again but not piercing your skin.   
“Worthless girl.” It stood over you, and its voice sounded like all that was evil, making you feel like no light could ever pierce this overwhelming darkness. Your eyes followed its hand as it descended towards your face. It looked as if it was moving very slowly, but you knew this not to be true as you felt it strike your jaw, everything fading to black.  
You blinked your eyes open, gazing up at the darkening sky as your brain tried to piece everything together. Why did your side hurt? Why was your jaw aching?   
Oh.  
You looked at the bodies of your fallen comrades, strewn around the clearing, and your eyes came to rest on the still form of Hallas. You crawled over to him, dragging his body onto your lap as you let out a scream raw with grief. You let yourself sob as you cradled him, rocking back and forth, but pulled yourself back a few minutes later, knowing that you needed to be thinking rationally.  
If the shadow had slaughtered everyone at the Sarn Fords, then its comrades that you had seen riding off earlier had probably caught the Rangers sent to warn Aragorn, the chief. So it was up to you now.   
You crept through the trees, making sure to stay silent as you made your way to the clearing, about five miles from the fords, where you’d left your horse, praying that the shadows hadn’t found him as well. Nahar, for that was his name, was peacefully grazing on the grass. You almost broke down at the sight of him but settled with stroking his velvety nose before swinging into the saddle. You knew you had to tell Aragorn, and you knew he was in Bree, so you tugged on the reins and Nahar set off at a brisk stride, living up to his namesake.   
While you rode, you scoured your brain trying to figure out the shadows, ignoring your grief as best as you could. Some things were more important than sorrow. They were like nothing you had ever seen before, the fear that had crept over you was like nothing you had ever felt before. You thought back over stories you had heard, tales from your childhood. The Ringwraiths. It hit you, and you quickly nudged Nahar into a gallop.  
You had arrived at Bree to find the town reeling. The shadows had appeared there two nights after you had fought one, and Aragorn, or as they knew him, Strider, had left that same night. Knowing that he was headed to Rivendell, you refused the night’s rest that had been offered to you and set off again.   
Swinging out of the saddle, you handed Nahar’s reins to a startled stablehand and tore through the halls of Rivendell, heading for the terrace where you knew at least someone would be.   
You heard shouting, and spun around the last corner, passing two small hobbits, and ran down the steps, seeing a small crowd gathered on the terrace. Not caring, you burst through the circle to skid to a halt in front of your chief.   
“Aragorn!” You collapsed at his feet. “The nine walk again. Mordor has awoken.”   
A silence fell, broken by the voice of another hobbit. “I will take it.” Everyone turned towards him. “I will take the Ring to Mordor.”   
As he spoke, you glanced at the pedestal in the center of the group and saw a golden ring resting there. You recalled more tales from your youth, of great power and twenty rings, and put the pieces together. The one ring.  
“If by my life or death I can protect you, I will.” You watched as Aragorn strode over to the hobbit, kneeling before him. “You have my sword.”  
“And you have my bow.” A tall, blond elf stepped forward.   
“And my axe!” A red-bearded dwarf joined him.  
“You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done.” A tall man stepped forward, joining them.  
You started as a hobbit appeared from your left, and then two more, all lining up as if forming ranks for battle.   
“Nine companions,” declared Lord Elrond, “so be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring.”  
They all stood there, looking very regal and such until you rose from the seat next to Aragorn where you had been catching your breath.   
“I shall join you.” You walked over, intending to join their little formation, but Aragorn grabbed your shoulder as you stood next to him.  
“Y/N. You cannot. You must rejoin our kin by Sarn Fords.”   
You held back tears at the name of the place. “They are all dead.”   
You heard gasps at your words.   
You watched Aragorn’s face as the realization sunk in. “Hallas?”  
You nodded, not trusting yourself to be able to speak.   
“Oh, Y/N.” He quickly gathered you into his arms, and you bit your lip to stop yourself from breaking down right then.   
You heard a cough and quickly stepped back, composing yourself.   
“I suppose you shall be ten companions, then. Very well, I do not see the difference from nine.” You nodded your thanks to Elrond as the council dissipated, the members of the newly formed Fellowship heading off in pairs or groups of three. As they headed off, Aragorn quickly drew you to the side.   
“I have to go speak with Gandalf.” You blinked back tears again at the prospect of being alone but nodded at him.   
“Go. I’ll be fine.” You watched him jog to catch up with the wizard, greeting him with a smile. You sat back onto the bench. Hallas had never been to Rivendell, you were always sent to retrieve Aragorn or deal with the elves, but he had always wanted to. Looking around at the splendor you had become accustomed to, you finally let the tears pour, bowing your head as you mourned your brother, your better half.   
A soft shuffling sound caught your attention. You lifted your head, blinking to clear the tears as the blurry figure of the blond elf came into focus. He was approaching from your left, which explained why you hadn’t noticed him until then. You felt a small bit of shame at not noticing, you prided yourself on your skills making up for your lack of sight but dismissed it.  
“Y/N, right?”  
You nodded.  
“Aragorn has told me much about you. I’m Legolas.” He sat next to you. “Do you need to talk about it?”  
You automatically started to shake your head before pausing. You would be traveling with him, Aragorn trusted him, and you really needed some sort of comfort.  
Taking a deep breath, you spoke. “I was one of the Dunedain holding Sarn Ford against the nine.”  
The concern clear in his eyes encouraged you to continue.  
“I tried to stop them, but they killed everyone. My brother…” and on that word, your voice broke, and you tried to keep yourself from dissolving into sobs again. His hand started tracing soothing circles across your back, and you kept going.  
“My brother Hallas was the last to die. It killed him right in front of me, I was powerless to stop it.”   
Your thin thread of control over yourself snapped, and you let the grief take over again. The elf beside you was dismayed as you buried your head in your arms, body wracked with sobs. He gently wrapped his arm around your shoulders and drew you in so that you were leaning into him, face now buried in his chest as he continued to move his hand across your back.   
Legolas held you until your sobs died down into hiccups as you slowly regained control. You pulled away from him, wiping your eyes with your sleeve, embarrassed.  
“I’m so sorry, Legolas, I did not mean for that to happen.”   
His hand on your shoulder forced you to look into his eyes.   
“It is alright. You needed comfort, and I was happy to provide it.”  
“Does it get any easier?” You needed to hear the answer, needed to know if this pain would ever go away.  
“No. It never does. I have watched as many friends died, and been powerless to save them. But I’ve come to learn that the best thing we can do to honor their memories is to not dwell on how we could not save them, but to live lives they would be proud of.”  
Gazing up at him, you mulled over his words as he blinked back tears of his own.  
“That is very wise.”  
He forced a small chuckle. “I’ve had lots of practice.”  
“No, truly. Thank you for that. It helps.”   
He smiled. Not a big smile, but one of acknowledgment. You smiled back. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and drew you close again.  
You sat there together for hours, together in your grief as preparations were made for departure. He mourned with you, and you with him, for losses old and new.


End file.
